Hello everyone, Will regular bx(armored) electric cable be ok to install behind my stove inside of fireplace for my insert? Can I run the extension cord that comes with my insert inside of fireplace? Thanks for any help!
Insert wiring - Type of wire
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This has been bandied about for as long as I have been in the hearth industry, & you will be hard-pressed to get a definitive answer.
We always ran BX cable from the basement, up thru the ash clean out & into a metal junction box that was tap-conned to the firebrick floor
behind the insert & plugged in the cord from the blower into that box.
AFIK, no electrical issues have arisen over the years since we started doing it this way, dating back to 2000.
Your electrical or building inspector may say otherwise, IF you are having the install inspected for insurance reasons.
Then again, you could always have it inspected with the cord out front & plugged into a room outlet UNTIL the inspection...
We always ran BX cable from the basement, up thru the ash clean out & into a metal junction box that was tap-conned to the firebrick floor
behind the insert & plugged in the cord from the blower into that box.
AFIK, no electrical issues have arisen over the years since we started doing it this way, dating back to 2000.
Your electrical or building inspector may say otherwise, IF you are having the install inspected for insurance reasons.
Then again, you could always have it inspected with the cord out front & plugged into a room outlet UNTIL the inspection...
jetsam
Minister of Fire
I am not an electician, but I did a home run with BX, dropped a metal handybox with a metal cover inside the fireplace, and plugged the stove in there.
If it melts, at least it'll happen inside the fireplace.
After the first year I did pull the insert out to reinstall it, and the vinyl outlet looked brand new.
When I sell the house, I'll pull the stove to increase the resale value (crazy, but true), and I'll just have a 1/2" hole in a mortar joint to patch up.
If it melts, at least it'll happen inside the fireplace.
After the first year I did pull the insert out to reinstall it, and the vinyl outlet looked brand new.
When I sell the house, I'll pull the stove to increase the resale value (crazy, but true), and I'll just have a 1/2" hole in a mortar joint to patch up.
Travis Industries offers an inside wiring kit. It’s just armored cable. We end up using it on most flush inserts, Lopi or not.. I would remove the existing cord from your insert and run the armor flex all the way into the unit, assuming it’s a flush insert. Eliminate the junction completely if possible.
I'm at this right now went to Home depot the p.o 'ed electrician there thought it would melt the wires. But this is what a lot of poeple do.
The guy at HD knows a little about wire, nothing about stoves. A few on here have ran their stoves without the surround panels on and said the jacket on the stove was just warm, not hot. I think all modern inserts have a convection jacket all the way around the firebox. It’s a lot different than old inefficient stoves.
What is the insulation rating on the wire? Hopefully Lopi is using THHN wire. There is a 30ºC difference between TW and THHN.
Not sure. I do know the inserts don’t even get hot enough to discolor the stickers on the jacket. We will often wrap the armor flex in ceramic wool liner insulation as a precaution. Not always though. I’ve never heard of any issues from an inside wiring either.
My main concern is that there is not an obvious method of disconnecting (or turning off the circuit) in the room without pulling the insert. This could be a hazard with motor servicing and blower cleaning. Yes I know one can hunt down the fuse/breaker in the unlabeled panel in the basement, but a lot of people are too lazy or unprepared to do this.
Often times we run it into the basement and simply plug it into an outlet. Otherwise, finding the breaker is necessary. Same thing is necessary on a Fireplace, so it’s not uncommon.
jetsam
Minister of Fire
My insert shipped with a power cord that has strain relief at the insert with a regular little plastic bushing. That area is not designed to get hot, and it really doesn't.
All inserts aren't the same, of course.
I remember looking at a couple inserts in the stove shop to see how they were connected, and the crawlspace behind them was used to store wood and bags of pellet fuel.
All inserts aren't the same, of course.
I remember looking at a couple inserts in the stove shop to see how they were connected, and the crawlspace behind them was used to store wood and bags of pellet fuel.
Well, we are there to install an insert, not rewire their house lol.
We do the best we can and never leave anyone with anything dangerous.
we usually use bx or as we know it now a c it has a ground wire. i wire inserts (gas) like that. the wire in the cable is good for 90 celsius 194 degrees. the area where the cable will be is usually well insulated to keep the heat down and heat rises. the plug serves as the disconnect. if you take off the plug and hardwire it that might be a warranty or UL problem. if it were to be hardwired then there should be a switch usually mounted on the wall next to the fireplace. the insert should say in it's paperwork if you can take off the plug and hardwire. if this insert has the plug outside of the insert meaning room side not fireplace side of the insert then no you can't run the plug into the fireplace side to plug in. if there is a plug on the room side then that tells me it might be to hot for electrical in the firebox and that wire that is in there should be removed along with a gas pipe that might be there. i have seen this incase you were wondering if people do this. not part of this conversation but i have seen people that have a gas log in the open fireplace that has been there for 50 years put on a set of glass doors the makes that firebox area a oven that the only way that they got warned of a problem was when the wires melted and shut the unit down. and still wanted it to be rewired so that it would work not thinking about the gas pipe in there cooking away.
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